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Recycling is a daily habit for millions of people. Yet despite recycling's enormous popularity and tremendous success, millions of tons of waste are produced every day. We need to go beyond recycling to put Zero Waste into practice. Organizations like GrassRoots Recycling Network (GRRN) are helping to promote "Zero Waste" worldwide.
What is Zero Waste?
Even 100% recycling isn't a complete solution to the waste problem. Why? Because for every trash can we put out at the curb, approximately 71 trash cans worth of waste were already generated in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the products we buy and discard. Managing waste at the end of the pipe overlooks the waste and pollution that occurs up-stream. Zero Waste demands a holistic approach to resource use, starting with what happens up front. Zero Waste requires
- product designs that minimize waste and environmental harm,
- producer responsibility for product life cycles, and
- reducing the tax burden on local governments and citizens who pay for disposal.
Barriers to Zero Waste
- Zero Waste presents compelling environmental, economic, and social goals. Successful programs worldwide are already moving there. But achieving Zero Waste requires an engaged public willing to question conventional wisdom and practice. Four barriers present key challenges.
- Government subsidies favor resource extraction (mining, logging, etc) and resource wasting (landfilling and disposal) - tax breaks, preferential pricing for energy and water, and other subsidies give wasting an unfair and unnatural competitive advantage.
- The high cost of waste is hidden -consumers may pay three times for every product: once at the store, again for disposal, and yet again to remedy environmental problems.
- Producers need to be responsible for life cycle of their products - manufacturers decide how a product is made and marketed yet they have no responsibility for disposing or recycling these products.
- Long term planning needs more powerful decision-makers - current systems for making policies often favor "fast results" when elected officials or business leaders feel they have more to gain before the next election or review. We must all express our long-term interests to them through our votes and purchases.
Information and education are the keys to overcoming these barriers. Together we can build communities and businesses that approach Zero Waste.
Zero Waste in Action
Around the country and around the world, communities and businesses are starting to change the ways they operate and are using Zero Waste strategies to guide their future. A few of the great examples include -
- Local Governments set goals: Del Norte County, CA adopted a comprehensive Zero Waste plan in 2000. More than 1/3 of New Zealand's 74 local government councils have adopted "Zero Waste to Landfills by 2015"
- Purchasing and Procurement: Major public institutions and private companies help advance Zero Waste by setting strict environmental and recycling standards for the goods they purchase, like computers and paper
- Model Communities: Halifax, Nova Scotia achieved 65% waste diversion from landfills in 2000, in part by banning certain wastes from landfills; San Jose, CA recycles or reuses 60% of household waste and diverts almost 50% of all municipal waste from landfills, in part by offering financial incentives to business to reduce waste.
- Businesses: Fetzer Wineries reduced their waste by 93% in recent years and has a goal of Zero Waste by 2009; Xerox reduced non-hazardous solid waste worldwide by 87% and beneficially managed 94% of hazardous wastes.
New initiatives from around the world are chronicled at the GRRN website, www.grrn.org, along with resource materials for citizens and community groups. Citizens must remain watchful of false claims designed to impress the media and the general public without producing real results.
The Road to Zero: Five Key Elements of Zero Waste
1. Invest in Community Waste Reduction and Recovery Systems such as Resource Recovery Parks that stimulate innovation and create incentives for local entrepreneurs to process clean reusables, recyclables, and compostables.
2. Create Jobs and Sustainable Communities to help local economies become more self-sufficient and create opportunities for civic participation and sustainable employment.
3. Redesign Products to be non-toxic and safely reintroduced to commerce or nature.
4. Extend Producers' Responsibility for their products at the end of useful life, creating the incentive to design cleaner, durable and recyclable products.
5. End Virgin Resource Subsidies at every level so that resource-conserving enterprises can use their inherent advantages to out-compete resource-wasting industries.
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Resources and Local Action
GRRN and the Wisconsin Be SMART Coalition have resource materials available for community members. Details on the Zero Waste items below are available on the GRRN website at www.grrn.org, and the Green Pages and Scholarship resources can be found on the Be SMART website at www.besmart.org.
- Zero Waste Event Planner (on GRRN site) and Waste Reduction Tips (on Be SMART site): find information and tips to plan a Zero Waste event and reduce waste at your campus or community programs.
- Zero Waste Videos: the videos combine informative interviews of international experts with footage documenting successful Zero Waste programs.
- Green Pages Business Directory: find an extensive list of businesses and organizations whose products or services can help you reduce, reuse and recycle.
- The Be Smart Scholarship Competition: the high school and college student project planning guide and other information can be located here.
David Woods is with the GrassRoots Recycling Network (GRRN) in Madison, WI
Bill Tarman-Ramcheck is programs analyst with the City of Wauwatosa
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